Improvement in the manufacture of illuminating-gas from petroleum



B, H. SMITH. anufacturing illuminating Gas from Pernlem, &c'.

Pa'tented August I2, 1873.

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Inventor.

Witnesses y AM PHom-urflaGnAPH/c ca Lx/.(ossomf- P/eocess) UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICEo ROLAND ILSMITH, OF PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA.

IMPROVEMENT IN THE MANUFACTURE 0F iLLUMlNATlNG-GAS FROM PETROLEUM, &c.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 141,732, dated August 12, 1873; application filed June 4, 1873;

To all whom it may concern..-

Be it known that I, ROLAND H. SMITH, of Pittsburg, in the county of Allegheny and in the State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Portable Gas-Works for Household Use; and do hereby declarethat the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings and to the letters of reference marked thereon, making a part of this specification.

The nature of my inventionconsists in the construction and arrangement of a portable gas-machine for household use, as more fully hereinafter set forth.

In order to enable others skilled in the art to which my invention appertains to make and use the same, I will now proceed to describe the construction and operation of my gasworks, referring to the annexed drawing, in which- Figure l is a front elevation, part in section, of my machine; and Figs. 2, 3, and 4 show de# tached parts of the same.

A B represent a stove of any suit-able construction, made in two parts, hin ged together at a. G represents the stove-pipe, communicating with the chimney, and made in two parts, with a movable sleeve, C', surrounding the joint. By sliding this sleeve G' toward the iiue or chimney the top part B of the stove can be thrown toward the left, showing in that position the lid D of the retort, which may be fastened to or placed loosely in it. In practice the top B of the stove will go far enough back to allow of the body D ofthe retort being lifted out of the bottom part A of the stove. The body Dfof the retort is made, as shown in Fig. 1, with a central aperture, d, and on the under side of the lid D are two circular projecting flanges, b b, which lit into annular spaces on the top of the retort D. In these spaces lead, or some other easily fusible metal, is placed, and the lid closed. Fire is then built, and when this metal melts the lid sinks to its place, and is gas-proof. E represents a can, where the supply of oil or other material is kept, and from which it is allowed to drip, drop by drop, into a funnel, f, formed on or attached to a pipe, G, leading into the retort D. Between the funnel f and the retort vD is a seal, formed by making the pipe turn downward and upward, which seal prevents the gas from forcing its way out through this pipe. The retort being heated to a red heat before any oil is allowed to enter, the oil is admitted, drop by drop, into the red-hot retort, and becomes instantaneously decomposed and formed into a fixed gas. The gas thus obtained does not condense or return to oil, which has been the great trouble heretofore in making gas. H represents the washer partly lled with water, the height of which is regulated by the curved seal h at the end of the washer. H is the lid, which fits into a waterseal, e, around the edge of the washer, as shown, and the lid H has two circular waterseals, m m', on top, to receive, respectively, the pipes from the retort and to the washer. The pipe I, which conveys the'gas from the retort to the washer, has at its end. a cap, u, fitting inside of the seal m over the pipe I', which projects through the lid of the washer, making a seal. J is the pipe conveyingthe gas from the washer to the gas-holder K. This gas-holder may be constructed in any of the known and usual ways, and from the holder the gas is passed through a meter and air-mixer, L, the gas being so fat that it requires from thirty to fifty per cent. of air to make itvburn well. In the first joint in the pipe I, extending from the retort to the washer, is a scraper by which to clean out the soot and refuse that accumulate there before the gas reaches the washer. Mrepresents such scraper attached to a rod, N, which passes through the top plug O of the cross-connection P, by which the pipes are joined. On the plug O a lead seal is used, and the scraper is held u p when not in use by means of a key, s, through a hole, in the rod, as shown in Fig.

2; or a female screw may be cut in the plug,

and a male screw on the plunger, as shown in Fig. 3, so that it can be screwed into its place A and retained there when not in use.

rIhe retort D, with its lid D', may be made of any suitable material.

This gas-works is easily put up, cheap and durable, and not liable to get out of order.

Having thus fully described my invention,

what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The retort D D, constructed as described, with central aperture d, and having its two parts connected by means ot' a lead seal, substantially as and for the purposes herein set forth.

2. The stoveAB, hinged together at a, and containing within it the retort D D', in combination With the stove-pipe G, having movablesleeve C', all substantially as and for the purposes herein set forth.

3. In combination with the connection P, the plug O, rod N, and scraper M, constructed and arranged substantially as and for the pur poses herein set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand this 17th (lay of May, 1873.

ROLAND H. SMITH.

W'itnesses:

JOHN B. GEYsER, RICHARD ALLEN. 

